Eight Long Island residents have been arrested on grand
larceny charges for their involvement in a scheme to
redeem cans, bottles and other recyclable beverage containers
repeatedly as a way to steal millions of dollars from
Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Miller Brewing Company, their
wholesalers, and other corporations.

Five of the eight defendants are Long Island retail beverage
dealers who accepted hundreds of thousands of already
redeemed bottles and cans to be redeemed again, collecting
seven cents for each illegal redemption.

“The investigation found that, instead of recycling the
bottles and cans, Boro Recycling would send them back
out onto Long Island to certain soda and beer retailers
– their partners in the scheme – who would redeem the
cans and bottles again, collecting hundreds of thousands
of dollars for another trip through the system,” district
attorney Thomas Spota said. “It’s a profitable perversion
of New York’s beverage container recycling law and we
suspect it’s been going on for years.”

Attorney general Andrew M. Cuomo said, “This scam siphons
money from our State’s already overburdened budget while
undermining the environmental protection fostered by
the Bottle Bill. By all indications the alleged corruption
being announced today is not limited to Suffolk County.
As part of our efforts, my office has already subpoenaed
four companies and we will continue this investigation
throughout New York State.”

“If you multiply millions of bottles and cans by seven
cents and it is plain to see beverage companies are paying
millions of dollars more than they should in deposit
fees, said Spota.

Peter Sidote, of Dix Hills, the owner and operator of
Party Time Beverage in Brentwood, is suspected of being
the central Long Island broker for the scheme. Sidote
is charged with second degree grand larceny. Sidote would
allegedly receive the already redeemed cans and bottles
from Boro and then distribute the previously redeemed
containers to other complicit beverage dealers, a strategy
designed to avoid detection by law enforcement.

Josephy Luzzi, of Bayside, is the owner and operator
of Boro Recycling. Luzzi is charged with second degree
grand larceny. Under his control and direction, beverage
dealers were recruited to participate in the scheme to
illegally re-redeem bottles and cans. Investigators believe
Luzzi was involved on a day to day basis with every aspect
of the illegal operation.

Robert Grady, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, is an
employee of Boro Recycling who allegedly acted as the
liaison between Luzzi and Sidote and the other beverage
retailers who participated in the scheme. Grady is also
charged with second degree grand larceny. Prosecutors
say Grady scheduled the deliveries of the already redeemed
cans and bottles to Long Island for re-redemption and
on many occasions drove the trucks to deliver the contraband
himself.

The other beverage dealer defendants charged with second
degree grand larceny and alleged to have participated
in the redemption scheme are: